Approaching our 5th Year!!

Well it has been a while since I have caught everyone up to speed with our family. I am thrilled that summer is finally here so we can spend more time outdoors. There is something completely refreshing about sunny weather. I think my body and mind need blue skies... I get depressed indoors and/or in gloomy weather.

Josiah seems to be making more gains more often lately!! He is no longer nursing... which is bittersweet. We are able to give him pediasure with more calories per ounce than breast milk to help him gain weight. But this also means that he can get sick easier with out that precious breast milk to help him fight off viruses and such. So luckily he weaned himself during summer months and not flu season. I am not sure what happened but he slowly began nursing less and wanting more from an open cup or sippy cup. I still have tons of breast milk saved up for him when he gets sick. I donated tons of it.... 4,972 oz or 38.8 gallons to be exact! It is used for infants and children with digestive problems, going through chemo therapy, allergies, etc. I have given it to Iylah for cold sores or pink eye or ear infections and it ALWAYS works! It seems to be the miracle medicine.

Josiah is still a little peanut. He currently weighs about 14 lbs. 11 oz. (depending on the day and scale). We recently saw an endocrinologist since he is still so small. She has seen many children with Noonan Syndrome. Basically what the endocrinologist said is that he will need growth hormone we just need to decided when to start. The outcome is better the sooner you begin. This would mean one shot every day until he reaches us final height. That's for about 20 years!!! On top of that the cost of growth hormone is about $20,000 PER YEAR!!!!!!!!! Of course insurance would cover part of it but we will definitely reach our out of pocket maximum every year. And I think we would come close to Josiah's lifetime maximum that insurance will cover. We have decided to wait until he is two (which is just around the corner), then re-evaluate his growth and determine when we want to start.

Josiah is sitting really well. He tries to pull himself up on things and tries to get on all fours. He says "all done", "Dada", "Iylah", and "Nana" consistently. He also signs "all done", "bye", "night-night", "light", and "carrier" consistently. Over all he is so much more animated. He knows what he wants, and he tries so hard to communicate it. He finally has been sleeping through the night more often than not!! I did not realize how exhausted I was until I began experiencing what it was like to feel rested again. I guess being completely drained had become my norm. But now I am feeling so much more refreshed! Josiah's most favorite thing in the world is, of course, Iylah. Every time she comes near him he raises his eyebrows, bounces his little body, makes a huge glowing smile, and tries to talk to get her attention. It is unbelievable how much he adores her. I will try over and over again to get him to do something and then the second Iylah walks in the room and copies me, Josiah will quickly mimic Iylah.

Josiah cannot seem to grow fast enough, but Iylah seems to be going on 16! Just recently she learned the hard way that you cannot walk down the stairs in heels. Yes, she picked my highest heels and attempted the stairs! One night at the dinner table Craig and I were discussing errands we had to run that night. As we were trying to decide if we should go together as a family, Iylah interrupted with a very serious face saying, "Mom, maybe we should just lay the kids down and go to Hobby Lobby." Recently I was driving home from a play date and some how got lost. Before I realized I was lost Iylah said, "You are going a different way, Mommy." Last night she began calling Daddy "Babe" and when Josiah is upset she says, "Siah, it's alright, Mommy will be back soon honey, you will be just fine." She is so quiet but those wheels are turning in her head. I do "school work" with her at home (ABC's, numbers, etc.). I always feel like she is not retaining anything that I am trying to teach her because she is just so quiet most of the time and just goes with the flow. Recently someone told her to write her name and she wrote "Iyl" and then asked for help with the "ah". The other day I was helping her get her boots on and she said "Boots, boots, B-O-T-S, boots". She always surprises me in the most random moments.

Our five year anniversary is coming up so soon. In some ways it seems like it has been at least 10 years and then in other ways it feels like we just got married last summer. Craig had his 10 year reunion last weekend and boy do I feel lucky to have a husband as amazing as him (of course I already knew this but I was reminded at the reunion)! From guys I was hearing, "Oh man, I looked up to Craig so much. Craig you are the man! Craig you are the nicest guy I know.....". Then from girls I would hear "Craig is the most perfect guy. He would be the best husband..." or there would be an awkward silence letting me know that at some point they had a crush on him. In some ways it was nerve wracking because I felt like I had big shoes to fill as his wife. I felt like some people were making sure I made the cut.

With everything that has happened in the past year and a half I definitely feel like Craig has gotten the short end of the stick as far as my attention and energy is concerned. When we got married I asked Craig what stage of life he is most excited about and he said when we are grandparents! Yeah, just skip the having and raising kids part and the most enjoyable part to him would be when we are old, retired, and on Viagra ;). Before we had kids he also said he was worried that when we have children, they will take away all of my attention. And it is so sad to say but sometimes I feel that really has happened. I definitely feel that the most important relationship that the children see is the one between the husband and wife. That love will ultimately teach them Christ's love for them. So my goal is not to focus on all the appointments and therapy that Josiah has, not on teaching Iylah the ABC's, not on making sure Josiah is getting enough calories, not on having all the laundry done or the dishes cleaned but entirely on displaying my love and respect for Craig. And of course to do this consistently and well I need to be right with God. So much so that I am literally overflowing with Christ's love. So my new prayer request as Craig and I are reaching our 5th year anniversary is to put Craig and my relationship before the children and all the other everyday stuff.

Thank you for keeping our family in your prayers. God has been answering lots of your prayers! Pray big!

Cherie